Water-wheel.



O. C. HUBER.

WATER WHEEL.

APPLiCATION FILED JAN. 2, 191a.

Patented Mar. 4,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

gnuenfo'c O. C. HUBER.

WATER WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.2.1918.

Patented Mar. 1, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- I orro c. HUBER, or anxrom sonmr naxo'm.

WATER-WHEEL.

means-2.

To all'tbkom, it may concern:

zen of the United States, residing at Yank ton, in the county of Yankton and of South Dakota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Water Wheels, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvementsin water wheels, designed especially for use as -submerged wheels, and possess ing as their peculiar characteristics radially extending paddles which are formed wlth.

folding blades movable on a radial axis and provided with specially devised fins which insure proper opening of the folded 1 blade as the paddle is brought to working or operative position during its rotary motion.

Theprimary object of the invention the provision of a water wheel of this typ that is simple in both construction and ope ation, composed of but comparatively few arts, durable, compact, and reliable and e cient in performing its functions.

The invention consists in certain novel combinations and arrangements of parts including the folding blades and their peculiarly constructed and arranged fins, as Wlll be more particularly set forth hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated one complete example of the physical embodiment of my invention, constructed and arranged according to'the best mode I have so far devised for the practical application of the principles of my inven- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a wheel constructed according to my invention.

Fig. 2 is an edge view of the wheel.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view showing one of the paddles with its working face toward the reader.

Fig. 4 is an edge view of the paddle of .Fig.

Fig, 5 is a top plan view of the top paddle in Fig. 1, showing in dotted lines the folding movement of the blades as the wheel rotates and brings the blades around against the stream or current.

As before stated the wheel is designed especially for use when submerged, and it is operated by the currents of a moving Specification of Letters Patent.

v stream, as the currents flow downwardly and Beit known that I, Or'ro C. HUBER, a c1t1- 1 impinge against the uppermost paddle, and as-the opened paddle rotates against the I Patented Mar. a, rain. Application filed January 2. 1918. Seria1 No.209.964. V

stream it is folded, axially, in order to presenta minimum surface to the current. In order to illustrate the-invention I have supported in bearings 2 which may be of any type and properly located, and upon the indicated a horizontally disppsed shaft 1, as

shaft the wheel, indicated as a whole by the numeral 3, is fixed torevolve with the shaft. Thaw heel is fashioned with a central hub or metallic casting 4 which is provided with radiating sockets to receivethe'inner ends of the spokes 5, four in number in this instance, and preferably made of wood with sharp edges 6 at their forward sides. to render minimum resistance to the water as the wheel revolves.- V V Each of the four paddles illustrated comprises a pair of duplex, wooden, folding blades 7 and 8, that are hinged at 9 to the lateral sides of the spokes, which permit the blades to fold on the radially extending hinge joints as the blade turns under and against the stream. A cross bar or cross head 10 is fixed'at the outer extremity of each spoke, forming a T-shaped spoke which.

acts as a stop and brace for theblades as they turn over the top of the wheel and receive the pressure from the downstream currents of water, which of course by their pressure operate the wheel to drive suitable machinery or devices through the instrumentality of the shaft 1.

As an aid, and factor, in insuring the proper position of the folded blades as they approach the working position, I employ metallic fins 11 at the ends of the respective blades, and the extremities of the blades themselves are beveled at 12in line with Y these fins.

In Fig. 1 the arrows indicate the horizontal movement of the currents of .the

stream as they impinge on the opened blades, and the circular arrows indicate the rotation of the wheel, while in Fig. 5, the horizontal arrows also-indicate the direction of the currents, but the circular arrows indicate the folding movement of the blades, and the dotted lines indicate the positions of the blades as they fold and unfold, turning down and under, and then up and over, respectively.

Thus the fins, it will be observed in Fig. 3 especially, have flat faces 11 and inclined faces 11, and the latter faces are arranged to extend forward, or in the direction of rotat-ion of the wheel, in order that aLi the folded blades rise, the currents of water striking the outer, forwardly extending, inclined faces of the fins Will start the movement of unfolding or opening out flat the two blades of the paddle, thus insurlng the proper position of'the blades to receive the raeepea impact of the currents of Water passing down stream.

What I claim is .v

A Water Wheel having a series of radial spokes, a pair of blades on each'spoke having radial hinge joints, and a fin at the outer extremity of each blade, said fins having inclined portions with their remote ends projected in the direction of rotation of the wheel.

In testimony whereof I afix my signature.

OTTO C. HUBER. 

